The University of Washington, in carrying out its
instruction, research, and public service mission, receives funds
from many sources and levies a number of fees or charges on a
wide range of users. Fees are generally charged to recover costs,
either partially or fully, or to ration or control the demand
for services. Fees are charged to students, to programs, and to
the general public. The purpose of this document is to present
the policies and procedures which govern the review and approval
of fees and charges at the University of Washington. It does not
encompass internal recharges from one program or department to
another.
The Board of Regents has the authority to assess the following
types of fees:
Tuition fees;
Services and activities fees;
Technology fees; and
"Other fees as such Board shall in its discretion determine."
The Board of Regents has retained authority
for review and approval of certain fees and has
delegated authority for review and approval of
other fees to the President who, in turn, may delegate
review and approval to others.
The Board of Regents retains final authority
to review and approve all fees and policies governing fees
charged to students for degree credit instruction, or where
considerations of policy, shared authority, and political sensitivity
warrant Board of Regents approval. The President shall present
recommendations to establish or modify such fees or fee policies
to the appropriate committee of the Board of Regents. The following
user fees are included in this category:
a.
Academic Year Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fees for the academic year, including student
services and activities fees and student technology fees,
must be approved by the Board of Regents.
b.
Summer Quarter Tuition and
Fees
Summer
Quarter tuition and fees, including student services
and activities fees and student technology fees, must
be approved by the Board of Regents.
c.
Other Fees Intended to Cover
Instructional Costs
Course-related fees that are intended
to cover, in whole or in part, instructional costs must
be approved by the Board of Regents. In this context, the
term "instructional costs"
is defined as faculty or teaching assistant
time. Laboratory and course fees can be used to recover
other course related expenses in accordance with Section
5 below.
d.
Residence Hall and Family Housing
Rates
Residence hall and family housing
rates and parking fees must be approved by the Board of
Regents.
e.
Other Fees
The review and approval of all other
fees is delegated by the Board of Regents to the President,
who, in turn, delegates such review and approval as prescribed
in the following sections.
The President, acting upon recommendations from the University Budget Committee, may impose University-wide fees and charges to recover costs fully or partially, or to ration services. Such fees and charges include the following: student application and registration fees, including fees for change of registration, late registration, registration while on leave, thesis and dissertation publication.
The President delegates to the Provost the review and approval of fees and fee policies for degree credit programs not within the state-funded enrollment contract which are expected, as a matter of policy, to recover their full or direct costs.
The President delegates to the Provost the review and approval
of any course fee proposed by a dean or vice president that
is greater than $50 per quarter. The guidelines for what costs
are eligible for inclusion in a course fee greater than $50
per quarter are the same as those listed in Section
5.
The President delegates to the Provost the
review and approval of any other instructional related fee
of any amount that is proposed to be charged to students entering
particular majors or programs rather than to students in particular
courses. The term "instructional related fee" is meant
to include fees for either services a student must receive
to be eligible to participate in a particular program (for
example, immunizations for students who are performing clinical
work in a hospital setting) or for materials students must
purchase to participate in a program (for example, dental kits
for dentistry students). The guidelines for what costs are
eligible for inclusion in an instructional related fee charged
to students entering particular majors or programs are the
same as those listed in Section
5.
The President delegates the review and approval
of those fees and charges not covered in Sections 2–4
above to deans and vice presidents as set forth
below, provided that such review includes consultation
with affected students and faculty (all such
fees and charges must conform to Office of Planning
and Budgeting guidelines; see Section 6).
a.
Course Fees Charged to Students
Course fees charged to students
must be implemented in a manner consistent with the requirements
specified below:
#1
Course fees are additional charges to students
that are intended to pay for specified course-related costs.
#2
Course fees approved by a dean or vice president must
be $50 per quarter or less.
#3
Course fees may be used for materials, supplies, and
equipment, as well as non-personnel costs associated with
field trips, technology, and related costs of set-up, maintenance,
and cleaning for materials, supplies, and equipment.
#4
Course fees may be used for tangible resources that
are utilized to different degrees in multiple courses (for
example, the slide collection in the Art Department).
#5
Course fees may be used for personnel costs other than
faculty and teaching assistant time that are related to
a particular course offering (for example, part of the
cost of a laboratory technician supporting a chemistry
lab could be recovered through a course fee).
#6
Course fees may not be used to pay for standard instructional
salary costs (i.e., faculty and teaching assistant time)
except where the student is receiving and paying for individualized
instruction/tutoring.
#7
The revenue generated from course fees must be used
to directly support specific course offerings.
#8
Colleges and schools should establish procedures for
obtaining student input on proposed new course fees. Colleges
and schools can either consult with existing student organizations
in the respective college or provide information to the
ASUW course fee committee.
#9
Department chairs should consult with faculty in the
affected department when new course fees are proposed.
#10
Income from course fees must be used as intended and
recorded in departmental income accounts.
#11
Students in the affected department must be notified
at least 30 days prior to the implementation of any new
course fees. When new fees are implemented, every effort
should be made to notify students prior to the start of
Autumn Quarter so that students can incorporate estimated
expenses into their financial planning.
#12
If students have questions about the purpose or level
of a particular course fee, questions should first be directed
to the chair of the department offering the course in question.
If there are still questions after a conversation with
the chair of the department, questions should then be addressed
to the dean's office of the college. If there are still
questions after a conversation with the dean's office of
the college, students may request that the Office of Planning
and Budgeting review the course fee in question.
#13
In complying with Section 6.f of
this policy, reports of these fees shall be kept by the
Office of the Registrar using the online registration
system which will be available for students considering
registering for the affected courses. This system will
provide brief information about the purpose of particular
course fees (such as "laboratory
materials and equipment" or "individualized instruction"). Colleges
and schools need to provide the Office of the Registrar
with the information needed for this documentation to be
available to students online.
#14
Colleges and schools shall review departmental course
fees every four years on a rotating basis. A summary of
these departmental course fee reviews shall be provided
to both the Office of Planning and Budgeting and to the
ASUW course fee committee (for the Seattle campus) or the
ASUW/Bothell or ASUW/Tacoma student groups on the Bothell
and Tacoma campuses. At the beginning of each academic
year, the Office of Planning and Budgeting will consult
with deans and establish the list of departments for which
course fees will be reviewed in that academic year.
#15
Once a course fee has been established, future increases
in the fee are limited by Initiative 601 fee increase limitations.
b.
All Fees and Charges Intended to
Ration Services
All fees and charges
which are intended to ration services or to compel compliance
with regulations can be approved by deans and vice presidents
as long as the scope of the fee affects only those programs
and students within their designated areas of responsibility.
Examples of such fees include charges for library book
replacement or a late return fee for chemistry supplies.
c.
All Fees and Charges Necessary to Recover
in Full or in Part the Costs of Continuing Education
All fees and charges
necessary to recover in full or in part the costs of
continuing education, performing arts, auxiliary educational
activities, and other auxiliary enterprises and self-sustaining
programs which provide services to students, other campus
programs, or the general public can be approved by deans
and vice presidents. Ticket prices for arts and athletic
events are included in this category.
In accordance with the existing Recharge
and Cost Center Rate Policy, fees
and charges of campus recharge centers must be approved
by the Management Accounting and Analysis Office. Deans
and vice presidents may delegate the authority to approve
fees and charges covered by this section to directors and
department heads.
The User Fee Approval Policy requires that fees for which approval was delegated to deans and vice presidents conform to Budget Office guidelines. The following guidelines apply:
a.
Fees Charged to Other
University Departments
Fees charged to other University
departments (by the Cost Transfer Invoice (CTI) form,
or Journal Voucher form) must be set to recover not
more than the cost of the goods or services
provided, including applicable departmental overhead
costs. Fees charged by University recharge centers
must be approved by the Management Accounting and
Analysis Office before being implemented or changed
as required by the Recharge
and Cost Center Rate Policy.
b.
Fees Charged to University
Employees and Students
Fees charged to University employees
and students must be set to recover not more than
the cost of the goods or services provided, including
applicable departmental and University-wide overhead
costs.
c.
Fees Charged to Outside
Users
Fees charged to outside users
must be set to recover at least the
cost of the goods or services provided, including applicable
departmental and University-wide overhead costs. Any
University subsidy of operations which sells goods
or services to outside users must be approved by the
Provost.
d.
Self-Sustaining Accounts
The fees discussed in Section
5 must be deposited in self-sustaining budgets
specifically designated for that purpose. These
budgets are identified by either the first two
digits (14, 15, 16, 19, and 25 are self-sustaining)
or the middle two digits (93 or 96 are self-sustaining).
Either criterion is sufficient to identify a self-sustaining
budget. All expenditures associated with providing
the goods or services applicable to the fee may
be charged to the self-sustaining account.
The self-sustaining accounts are not
intended for the accumulation of large surpluses
or deficits. Deans and vice presidents are responsible
for reducing excessive surpluses and for eliminating
deficits, normally within one year of the time the
deficit occurs, using state or discretionary funds
if necessary.
e.
New Fees Involving the
Sales of Goods and Services
New fees involving the sales of
goods and services (which includes all fees which may
be approved by deans and vice presidents) must comply
with the "Policy of Sales of Goods and Services" (see Administrative
Policy Statement 59.5). Documentation
of the sales policy review and approval or evidence
of a sales policy exemption must be provided to the
Budget Office when requesting a new self-sustaining
budget which will receive revenue.
f.
The Office of Planning
and Budgeting Will Maintain a Database
The Office of Planning and Budgeting
in conjunction with the Office of the Registrar will
maintain a database of all course fees approved by
the Board of Regents, deans and vice presidents, and
others to whom they delegate fee approval authority.
New fees or changes in existing fees of the type included
in the database must be reported to the Office of Planning
and Budgeting. Biennially, and more often if necessary,
an inventory of these fees will be distributed to the
Board of Regents, deans, and vice presidents for updating.
The President designates the Provost to administer and interpret these policies and procedures and to recommend, through the University Budget Committee to the President, any revisions and modifications thereto.
